Simply put, he makes me happy. Nothing will bring me down from the high I’m on right now.
“Scarlet, we need to talk.”27ScarletThe way he says my name makes my heart skip a beat, but not in a good way. I tense and sit up, suddenly cold now that I’m away from his body heat. He swallows hard, doesn’t look me in the eye, and pushes himself up on the mattress. Moving his pillow behind him, he leans against the headboard.
“You regret sleeping with me?” I blurt.
“Fuck no.” He shakes his head and reaches for me. I tense, heart hammering away and feeling like I might throw up. I open my heart to a man for all of half a night and he’s already dropping the we need to talk line.
What is wrong with me? Why did I think things would be different with Wes? I’ve been burned by love so many times in the past, starting with my own mother. Love isn’t real, and I need to pull away now before I die in a sea of flames.
“Scarlet,” he says again and takes a hold of my waist. He’s stronger than me and he knows it, but I’ll be damned before I let him get the best of me.
“I can just go if you want me to.” I pull away and start to get out of bed.
“What?” he rushes up, moving toward me. “No. I don’t want you to leave. Please.”
I stop, turning around and looking at the man before me. He’s so big, so muscular and strong. And yet he looks so vulnerable right now. Letting out a shaky breath, I inch closer. “I’m no good at this, Wes,” I admit. “I usually avoid my feelings and try not to let myself get attached to anyone or anything. It’s hard for me to trust people and you’re freaking me out.”
“I know,” he says, snaking his arms around me again. I should protest, but dammit, it feels so good to have his body against mine. I cave and let him pull me close, and I snuggle up with my head on his chest. “That’s why I need to tell you something.”
“Okay.” I run my hand up his side, bracing myself.
“Maybe I should have told you before I slept with you.”
I sit up, eyes wide. “You’re not helping your case.”
He nods and closes his eyes in a long blink. “I’m still married,” he says and waits, expecting the bomb to go off.
“Oh. That’s it?”
His eyebrows go up. “You’re not mad?”
I shake my head. “I already knew that.”
“You did?”
“Quinn told me at the bar tonight.”
His brow furrows. “Oh, well that’s good I guess.”
I smile. “So, does that solve our issue?”
He doesn’t look at me. “It feels unfair to you to start something when I haven’t ended things with Daisy.”
“Do you want to end things?” I ask carefully, afraid of his answer. My heart is on the line here and one word can change everything. I inhale and brace myself for the worst. That he doesn’t want to end things. Daisy is Jackson’s mother, after all.
“I wanted to end things before she left,” Weston admits, and his words throw me.
“Really?”
He nods and looks away. “We were together for a long time. Being with her was easy because it was familiar. But that didn’t mean we were meant for each other, and we kept waiting for things to get better. Obviously, you know how that turned out. So, yeah…I want to end things.”
“Why haven’t you?”
“I didn’t see the point. If I dated again at all, it wouldn’t be for a long time. I can’t do that to Jackson…bring someone into our lives and risk them leaving.”
“But didn’t you want to date?”
“Of course I did. And I do. But Jackson comes first.” He flicks his eyes to me and my heart skips a beat. I look at this beautiful man before me, realizing now more than ever that he’s everything I never knew I wanted. I used to think my dream man had to be a rich alpha asshole, but now I know how wrong I was.
My dream man is kind and caring, fiercely protecting those he loves. He’s willing to put his own happiness on hold for the sake of another. He’s brave and stands up for the right thing. My dream man values his family, doesn’t get caught up in petty drama and…and is sitting right next to me.
“How long has she been gone?”
“She left when Jackson was almost two months old.”
“Oh, wow. I mean, I’m sorry. Can I call her an idiot? Because she is to leave both Jackson and you.”
Wes smiles and the tension leaves his face. “Yeah, you can call her an idiot.”
“I’m not sure how the laws work in Indiana, but I know some places have abandonment of marriage rules or whatever they’re called so you can get a divorce without her signature.”